‘Sam & Cat’: Jennette McCurdy’s mother Debra McCurdy dies after cancer battle

Sad news is breaking today from the world of “Sam & Cat.” Debra McCurdy, the mother of series star Jennette McCurdy, has passed away following a lengthy 17-year battle with breast cancer. The news came out today via TMZ, with claims that the actress was absolutely devastated by the news.

McCurdy was originally supposed to host an event this weekend in Nickelodeon’s Worldwide Day of Play, where the network goes dark in order to encourage children to go outside rather than sitting indoors and watching TV. However, this appearance has understandably been canceled given the tragic news. McCurdy has long been a Nick staple, given that she first appeared years ago on “Zoey 101” before eventually finding her way to “iCarly,” where she was a fixture for many years before ultimately landing a role on the spin-off show alongside “Victorious” alum and rising pop star Ariana Grande.

To date, this had been a pretty remarkable years for McCurdy before this news came out. “Sam & Cat” is clearly a popular concept with the young Nick audience, and she has recently been in a relationship with NBA star Andre Drummond, who first reached out to her due to a childhood crush, and the two have since begun dating. The two have even spoken out about it in various interviews recently, and hopefully he is proving to be a valuable shoulder to cry on as she works through this difficult situation.

Of course, thoughts go out to McCurdy’s family during this difficult time, and we are going to have more news on this story as it breaks. McCurdy herself has not spoken out yet about the news, though we also do not expect her to for some time given the circumstances.

Photo: Nickelodeon